Teff Grass for Hay

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

Comments appreciated.

Seeds are coated and said to be smaller than Hulled Common Bermuda. Planting quantity is 8-10#/acre, depth very shallow, well packed soil.

I was thinking of using my 500# 3 pt conical spreader (normally used for fertilizer) and mixing the seeds something like play sand which is fine grain, and clean to get my desired volume/density. Then follow with my home made, very light duty, chain link fence, drag harrow and follow that with my roller/packer.

Everything else about the grass meets my requirements.

Thanks for your time.

Mark

Ken Macfarlane · Aug 12, 2016

Haytalk has some good threads on teff - from what I understand folks like it but it is very sensitive to traffic and scuffing.

Bill VA · Aug 12, 2016

Teff is an annual - so you will have to replant every year. I'm trying to recover a small field that was flooded earlier this year and will actually plant some Teff this weekend to generate some revenue from it before year end. Kind of a crap shoot this late in the game, but got the seed and will give it a try.

I'm using a broadcast spreader. My seed is coated and with the coating might be a tad smaller than Timothy, but will use a Timothy setting. I'll run a cultipacker over it. Should have a cutting within 45 days or less days. I just want to get something, so I'll cut at 45 days or soon as a frost kills it. Teff cannot tolerate cold weather and frost will kill it off fast.

The biggest two problems with Teff is the dry down - it likes to rehydrate. General rule of thumb is - if you think it's ready, wait another day. I'll probably use buffered propionic acid hay preservative as shorter/cooler/heavier dews will make it hard to get crispy dry prior to baling (small squares)

The 2nd problem is selling it. Horse folks that are familiar with it generally love it, those who don't know about it - Teff can be a hard sell.

Good luck,
Bill

spitz · Aug 12, 2016

we plant it every year and love the stuff. I would pack it twice. If you cant dribble a basketball on it its not packed good enough. Not sure how well a broadcast spreader will work as we use a brillion seeder. I would think a grass seeder on a drill might work better. The drydown does take much longer but the cows will walk away from grain to get teff.

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

Thanks Ken, where is Haytalk? On here? I'll look. I scanned the list of forums before I posted on TT. Could have missed it.

Lazy WP · Aug 12, 2016

It dies at a weak frost. Great feed!!!

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

I did a www on it and some of the info said what you said essentially, but left off the dribble part. Grin Since it plants so shallow, I agree that something has to get the damp soil packed around the seed. I have a 1960's JD drill that has planting instructions under one lid for lots of seeds, but with small acreage meaning not much seed volume, I'd be a bear to try to control seed count. Price is right for what I saw on the www. Local feed store has it in stock for $140/50# no shipping. Figuring how many seeds per pound (10's of thousands maybe) that's a steal.

Thanks for your comments.

Bob Harvey · Aug 12, 2016

Ya know what ? What? You guys/folks that grow hay and stuff talk a language that I can't fathom - nothing meant by that other than my ignorance. When I planted hay at my farm (70's), I just went with what the local (real) farmers were doing/using - I was happy with my results, and fed my critters (sheep) through the winter on my own grown stuff (5 years in a row). Nowadays it is a different story, and I take my hat off to all that continue. P.S. I have about a gillion hats !

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

I'd be planting in spring as soon as "gumbo" dried enough to get on it. Here we have the wet (last couple of years and before the 5 year drought) spring and then when the rain stops it stops....pretty much none to amount to anything all summer so I quit hoping for a second, much less third cutting on a hay crop here.

Thanks for your comment.

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

I bought this farm 37 years ago and was a transplanted urbanite. Have been learning the whole time. Keep looking for that perfect crop......no such thing. Gotta keep the faith and keep trying different things. When I got here the locals had Johnson grass and that was it. Alfalfa doesn't like Alkali soil and weed killer kills clover, and common Bermuda is low volume, and Coastal Bermuda has to be sprigged, and Sorghum-Sudan has Prussic Acid and Sugar Cane Aphids, and gives horses Colic, and rye is really just junk....one step above weeds for animal feed, and on and on.......I tried that this year. But it beats sitting on the couch and eating potatoes. Grin

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

Interesting comment about rehydration. Some of the www literature said that it has thin stems that cured much faster than stemmy millets. Course the pictures I saw had a crop so thick you could compare it to wool on a sheep's back. I can see that being hard to cure, especially if you plant early and it's still cool and rain is a threat.

Annual isn't a problem as the clay forgets from year to year that it saw steel the previous year.

On acceptance, If it looks like it will work out, I can work that area. Nothing like a free meal to sell your product and my horse customer is a country boy.

Thanks for your reply.

evilboweivel · Aug 12, 2016

probably talking about here
http://www.haytalk.com/forums/

TXZane · Aug 12, 2016

I bought my place in the fall of 2014 over here in east Texas. It had a beautiful tifton 85 hayfield when I bought it. Then it rained. I couldn't get anywhere on my place until the rain stopped. Then it stopped and nothing grew. Did that for two years now and there is nothing but weeds. Tifton is just about gone. I'm throwing in the towel and moving back north to try and grow some alfalfa.

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

I'll check it out. Thanks.

Texasmark1 · Aug 12, 2016

I was going to get some Tifton sprigged here several years ago as a guy was coming over from your area to do a big lot and I was going to piggy back on the trip and get a small side order since he couldn't economically come over just for me. I decided against it, forget the reason. I have one Coastal patch and am able to keep the soil reasonable, but that's the only one.

Lazy WP · Aug 12, 2016

Guys up in northern Nebraska get 2 cuttings a year. If you get moisture at the right time, you could probably get 4 or 5.

dcarp · Aug 12, 2016

Have you looked into Klein grass? We have a lot of it here in this part of Texas.
Cows like it, volume is good, and it is very drought resistant once established.
Soil here is mostly black gumbo. I saw a septic system installed in a field that had Klein in it. The roots went down 3 feet. Procedure would be the same as you outlined above, except I don't remember the seeding rate( darned senior memory).

Texasmark1 · Aug 13, 2016

I'll check it out. Thanks

Tx.Ricefields · Aug 13, 2016

What part of the state are you in?

Texasmark1 · Aug 14, 2016

N.E. of Dallas.

Teff Grass for Hay

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